Like many of you, I am still reeling from last night’s brutal season opener of The Walking Dead. Looking at the episode through the lens of an employment lawyer, a few thoughts came to mind: first, Negan’s managerial style is a tad harsh; second, he could really use some training on positive motivation techniques; and third, I think I can spin a blog post about how to discipline employees from this awful, gory episode! So here are four tips to help you navigate the risky waters of employee discipline, no Lucille required.

Despite the conclusion of the 2016 Summer Olympics, Ryan Lochte is still “under water” with questions still looming after Rio police reports that the American gold-medal Olympian fabricated a story about being robbed at gunpoint in Brazil. Lochte initially reported that he and three other U.S. swimmers—James Feigen, Jack Conger, and Gunnar Bentz—were robbed at gunpoint as they were returning from a party.

Brazilian authorities reported a markedly different account: The American swimmers vandalized a gas station and then got into an altercation with security guards. Since the news broke, Lochte changed his tune a bit to the press and admitted that he exaggerated his initial story, but the International Olympic Committee set up a disciplinary commission to investigate Lochte and the three other U.S. swimmers. This commission will determine what consequences, if any, the swimmers will face.

Hope Solo’s derogatory comments about Sweden’s national women’s soccer team have earned her a six-month ban from U.S. Soccer and the termination of her contract. U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati released a statement this week saying, “The comments by Hope Solo after the match against Sweden during the 2016 Olympics were unacceptable and do not meet the standard of conduct we require from our national team players.” However, many are questioning whether Solo’s punishment for calling Swedish players “cowards” is too little and too late.

Despite her World Cup title, two Olympic gold medals, 202 national team appearances, and 102 clean sheets, Solo has long been a loose cannon with her outrageous behavior overshadowing her performance as a player. As examples:read more…

Many people enjoy spouting off what they view as 140-character tidbits of wisdom on the social media platform Twitter. But recently several individuals have found themselves in trouble with their employers (read: former employers) for their tweets or other social media posts.

One recent example was a loan officer from Michigan who crafted a racist tweet, not worth repeating here, following First Lady Michelle Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention. Twitter users saw the tweet and tracked down the home loan company the woman worked for. The result was a flood of tweets directed to the company’s Twitter profile calling their attention to the tweet and asking if the employee’s views represented the company’s values.

This week’s employment law lesson comes to us from the movie Horrible Bosses. In the movie, Julia (played by Jennifer Aniston) is a dentist who employs dental assistant Dale (played by Charlie Day). After Julia uses her boss status to torture and torment Dale for most of the movie, Dale finally records her improprieties and delivers to her the following long-overdue payback speech:

This is what’s gonna happen. I’m going to take a two-week-long, very expensive holiday with my fiancée. Let’s call it a honeymoon. And YOU’RE going to pay for it! Then I’m going to return to a nice, rape-free workplace from now on. Because if you so much as LOOK at my sexy little a**, Julia, I will have yours locked the f*** up you CRAZY B**** WH***! Man, that felt GOOD!

With the college football regular season coming to a close, you may have noticed that a different kind of season has begun, a time referred to by authors and sports bloggers alike as “silly season.” The fun (and farce) is typically kicked off by the mid- to late-season rumors that a formerly promising coach of a prominent program will be shown the door as soon as the clock hits zero at the last game. Many times their replacement—the one who will certainly be able to finally take us all the way!—is an unproven coordinator from a rival school, an up-and-coming head coach from a lesser conference or division, or even more hilariously, a head coach recently given the boot by another program.

The latest installment of American Horror Story was off to a screaming start with the premiere of Hotel. If you missed it, proceed with caution as this article contains some minor spoilers on the first episode. This season is set in a sprawling art deco hotel that manages to be both beautiful and frightening at the same time, much like its penthouse occupant, The Countess (played by Lady Gaga). From vampires (large and small) devouring hotel guests to The Addiction Demon crawling out of mattresses with a drill bit dildo, working in this hotel is not for the faint of heart. read more…

If you’ve seen The Shining you certainly remember the scene when Jack Nicholson’s character, now thoroughly possessed by the Overlook Hotel’s diabolical spirits, hefts an axe and chases his wife through the snowbound resort. Cornering her in a bathroom, he splinters the door and bellows, “Heeere’s Johnny!”

Scary stuff, for sure. For me, though, I can’t bear to watch their young son–affectionately, “Doc”–tooling around the sprawling hotel on his big-wheel tricycle. Stanley Kubrick’s cinematography in that scene is perfect: The orange glow in the hallways signals danger worse than you would find in a dark, dank, cobwebbed mausoleum. Eventually, Doc turns a corner to find two spectral little girls, which cost me much more sleep than the sight of Jack Nicholson with an axe.

After more than three months of waiting, we finally got the investigative report regarding the New England Patriots’ “Deflategate” incident that occurred during the NFL’s AFC Championship Game earlier this year. Was it worth the wait? Was the NFL’s subsequent punishment just? It’s pretty clear it depends on whom you ask.

Authored by Ted Wells and his team from the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, the investigative report (the “Wells Report”) comes in at a hefty 243 pages (with exhibits). Those who question the Wells Report point to inconsistencies and unsubstantiated conclusions that would undermine the report’s finding that “it is more probable than not” that two Patriots personnel were involved in deliberately deflating footballs and that “it is more probable than not” that quarterback Tom Brady was “at least generally aware” of these two individuals’ actions. Others find that enough circumstantial evidence exists (in the form of text messages, statements, and certain scientific data) to make such a determination.

With Christmas just around the corner, my family and I have begun our yearly ritual of re-watching our favorite holiday films. At the top of the list is a relatively newer addition, Elf. The comedy stars Will Ferrell as Buddy, a human who crawls into Santa’s sack and ends up being raised by Papa Elf at the North Pole. After learning that he is actually human rather than an elf, Buddy decides to travel to New York to find his biological father, who works at a children’s book company and happens to be on the Naughty List. Much of the film’s comedy and charm comes from Buddy’s child-like innocence and genuine holiday cheer as he tries to navigate the cynical world of New York City. At his father’s office, this same innocence leads Buddy to mistake a mail room worker’s whiskey for delicious maple syrup. As you can imagine, a six-foot tall elf can cause quite a ruckus in the workplace after having too many spirits.

Employers are well aware that illicit drug use and alcohol abuse can be costly in the workplace. Drug-free workplace programs can be powerful tools in spreading prevention messages and intervening early with those who have already begun to use drugs. For many individuals, especially those who may deny that their use of drugs is problematic, workplace-based programs can be a critical step along the road to treatment and recovery. Every workplace is different, and drug-free workplace programs should be tailored to match a company’s individual needs. Here are some general recommendations for such programs: read more…